The invention relates to a vehicle for picking up and transporting refuse materials, the vehicle including a collecting container disposed on the vehicle behind the driver's cab. At its end toward the driver's cab, the collecting container is provided with a fill opening and with a pair of pivot arms that are provided with a pickup and dumping device for picking up at least one refuse container placed in front of the forward end of the vehicle so as to move the picked up refuse container over the top of the driver's cab and empty it in the region of the fill opening of the collecting container behind the driver's cab.
Vehicles of this type, so-called overhead loaders, are known, for example, from DE-AS [Published German Patent Application] 1,182,592, DE-AS 1,142,311 or DE-AS 1,226,053. Another variation is disclosed in US Pat. No. 4,096,959 in which, instead of a pair of arms, only one pivot arm is provided that is arranged at the side of the vehicle and is provided with a transverse beam extending transversely to the axial direction of the vehicle for picking up the refuse containers. The pair of pivot arms or the individual pivot arm, respectively, are either articulated to the vehicle frame behind the driver's cab and are given an arcuate or U-shape (DE-AS 1,182,592, DE-AS 1,142,311) or the pair of pivot arms is made of three parts and also articulated behind the driver's cab at the upper edge of the collecting container (DE-AS 1,226,053). The advantage of a so-called overhead loader is that the refuse containers can be picked up in the front region and thus in the viewing range of the driver. The prior art vehicles of this type, however, have the serious drawback that a considerable amount of clearance is required above the vehicle for pivoting and emptying the picked up refuse container, such space often not being available in cities, be it because of overhead streetcar conduits, telephone lines or also low tree branches which impede the pivoting process.